False Guardian
by Uniasus
Summary: Old Man Winter is not happy at all that Jack's been learning magic from North, and Mother Nature is pissed that Jack became a Guardian.
1. Storm

**A/N: **Hey all! This is the last story in the In the Company of Others series, and while you could skip the middle ones I would highly recommend reading the first one before getting started here. The order of the series is as follows:

1) The Big Three in the Life of Jack Frost

2) Getting Reacquainted with the Family

3) Painting Candy

4) Magic School

5) False Guardian

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1 - Storm<strong>

Jack had to say, this was the first time he had been woken up by Sandy. Usually, the little golden man put him to sleep. But here was Sandy, peaking into the Bennett freezer and interrupting a late Spring nap.

"I don't need any sand Sandy. This heat knocks me right out." Any other bed, Jack would have turned over but as it was frozen blueberries got in the way. And the large box of freeze pops.

The other Guardian flapped his hands about. Before Jack could close his eyes, Jamie and Tooth's faces appeared as well.

"Oh, Jack, we're sorry to wake you, but," Tooth's face feathers puffed out in worry. "There's something up at the Pole. A really big snowstorm. It's been going on for days and North is going stir crazy. Maybe you could try to calm it down?"

"What? Oh, yeah. I mean, I can try. If Mother Nature whipped it up for some reason though, I can't help you." Jack climbed out of the freezer and snagged his staff which had been leaning against it. "Do you know if he's done something to piss Gaia off?"

Sandy shook his head and the four of them made their way out the garage.

"I'll come back later, okay Jamie?"

"You'd better. I want to hear more about this storm. Think you could remake it here for Christmas?"

Jack chuckled. "We'll see. Wind! Take me to the Pole!"

The wind circled around him, lifting him up into the air and then shooting him north. Sandy was keeping pace with him in a paper crane, but Tooth started falling behind after a bit. Not wanting to leave her behind, he slowed down so they could reach the Pole together.

Bunny was already there waiting for them, rubbing his paws up and down his arms to keep warm. "It's bloody cold. Mate, what'd North do to you?"

"Nothing." Jack answered. "This isn't me. It's almost summer remember? And I'm linked to the North Hemisphere for the most part. Plus, there's something strange about this storm."

"Strange? Strange how?"

"Familiar maybe? But I can tell you this, it's elemental magic." Jack flew off towards the workshop.

The storm was intense. It was only Jack's familiarity with the area that allowed him to move towards North's place, the snow and ice chips in the air were too thick to see anything. The air was bitingly cold too, he hoped North was wearing a yeti furred coat.

He wavered on the edge of it, the wind hesitant to take him further and Jack was inclined to agree it with. There was something off about this storm. Might as well practice something North had been going on and on about – understanding the magic of something he hadn't created.

Taking a deep breath Jack closed his eyes and stuck his hand out, palm against the storm. Something pressed against his skin, something colder than ice and again Jack got the strange sense that he should know this magic. As soon as he registered the other magic, the storm disappeared.

When the other three caught up to him, Jack was still staring at his hand in amazement.

"You have more magic than I though you did, to make that clear up so fast."

"I'm not entirely sure I actually did it?"

"What do you mean?" Tooth asked, flying over to face him.

"I mean, I was just starting to analyze it when it stopped."

"Regardless, let's go see if North's okay." Bunny took off on all fours, the others flying behind him.

Crisis taken care of, Sandy came up next to Jack and signed an apology for waking him up. Not only did the former shooting star understand the importance of sleep, he had also been very apologetic to Jack the past four years. Jack suspected it had to do with making up for ignoring him for 300 years, even if the matter had been squared. Sandy hadn't noticed Jack's interaction with his dreamsand because the sand had labeled him as a teenager and not a spirit. Totally not Sandy's fault and Jack was glad that the golden Guardian wasn't the ass he had originally thought him to be.

In Jack's mind they were good, but Sandy continued to go out of his way to be friendly. Jack didn't mind the nighttime waves and times they worked together to craft dreams, but all the attempts at conversation were a bit much. Sandy was mute, and since Jack much preferred silence and listening to a conversation than having one, being forced to carry one was a bit aggravating. All their talks were rather short, but Sandy didn't seem to mind.

"Don't worry about it Sandy, you guys woke me up for a good reason. Besides, I probably wouldn't have slept much longer."

The Sandman held out a ball of golden sand, an invitation for sweet dreams.

"Nah, I won't need to nap again for a few weeks. Less if I hang out with Phil. And North." Jack hastily added. Really, he should make a point of saying hi to the Cossack more often during his visits to the Pole.

Sandy showed a pictograph of a sock and Jack shook his head with a small smile. No, he didn't need to take some sand for later. He'd find his fellow Guardian when he was ready to snuggle into some snow.

North opened the door just as they arrived.

"Jack!" he boomed, "Thank you for fixing storm. Was getting a little crazy in here."

"I really didn't do anything-"

"Nonsense!" North pulled Jack under his arm and led the way to a small lounge overlooking the ravine the workshop sat atop. "You are being modest again. Still don't understand how you don't think you have lots of power."

"Cuz I don't."

"Nonsense, mate. You're full of it."

Jack wanted to protest again, but let it slide. He knew powerful magician spirits and also knew that he didn't compare to them. Though he did accept the fact that he had more power than he originally thought he did.

Jack waved to a yeti just outside the lounge, North frowned at it, and the rest of the Guardians sent matching looks of various intensities. The yeti, to her credit, brushed them all off.

North set Jack in the chair farthest from the door and called for elves to bring them fruitcake and eggnog. As the others began to munch and chat, well used to Jack's tendency to just listen, his thoughts went back to the storm. It hadn't been natural, and here they were, just talking like this was a friendly get together.

"North," Jack interrupted and they all turned to him. "Someone made that storm, it was full of magic. Who would want to snow you in at the Pole?"

"Other than you?"

"Hey, I'd never snow you in for days. Just enough to make it hard to open the doors."

Sandy smiled into his cup.

"He's got a point North." Bunny tipped an ear towards the window. "Last time, Pitch came here first. And he's got a ton of power, has to to have changed Sandy's sand."

"Gut tells me it wasn't Pitch."

"Anyone else who'd want to do this?" Tooth pressed.

North shook his head. "I am Santa Claus, who hates me?"

Jack was thinking about a different question – who was capable of creating such a storm? Elemental magic, as he had learned from North, was the simplest type to do. Most spirits had some connection to a natural force and could manipulate it to some extent. The storm had been made of elemental magic, but it had an incredible amount of power behind it. Jack doubted he could create a storm of a similar caliber. So, who had more magical strength than him? Who had more control over the winter elements?

Who knew? Jack hadn't met every spirit out there.

"Jack? What's wrong? The room just got cold."

Jack blinked at Tooth. "What?"

"The temperature just dropped. What's on your mind?"

"No no, that's not me." Jack frowned. He hadn't noticed the room getting colder, but now that Tooth had mentioned he could feel the temperature drop. He could feel something else too, that same cold presence that he had felt in the storm and he knew for sure now he _should_ know who it belonged to but the name wouldn't come.

He floated to the window and opened it to stick his head out. Sandy was at his side in an instant, asking in his own way what was up.

"There's someone else here, the person who created the storm."

"Who?" Bunny asked, coming up behind him and staining his ears to hear.

"I don't know." Jack leaned out farther to look into the ravine. There was someone there, only noticeable because of the deeper patch of dark. As if the person knew they had been spotted, they starting rising considerably fast. "But they're-"

Jack was cut off by a large sheet of ice. It smashed through the exterior wall, destroying the window, and then hit him like a charging moose. Jack found himself forced through three walls and then stopped pressed up against a fourth.

He was in Phil's office. The yeti spent a moment looking from the new hole in the wall and the four faces of the Guardians looking back at him before rushing to Jack's aid. The ice was cold, freezing even, and Jack was sent back to the times he had been caged by Old Man Winter. He had gotten out of those thanks to magic, painting the bars away, but now his hands were pinned so he couldn't get to his brushes. His staff was also missing, most likely dropped somewhere on his way to Phil's office.

Phil signed to stay put and then he rushed out the door. Jack couldn't do anything but watch his friend leave, he was pinned that tightly to the wall. He had no idea what Phil was going to bring back, or when he would be back. In the meantime, Jack could hear through the ice sounds of fighting. Whoever had blasted him was attacking his family.

Jack couldn't have that.

Well, Bunny and North were always talking about how he shouldn't need conduits to use magic. Now was a perfect time to try.

Jack closed his eyes and concentrated. He was getting pretty good at feeling magic through his hands so that was where he turned his focus. Water was his natural element, which meant fire was the hardest for him to use. No melting the ice then, he'd have to transform it. Into what?

A blanket. He probably couldn't manage anything as complicated at the one North had gifted him with, but something simple like the one Mrs. Bennett draped over the couch in front of the TV would work. He pressed his palms against the ice, doing his best to channel magic through them like it would though a paintbrush. It was hard, because he was reminded exactly why he had used conduits to begin with. Sometimes it was hurtful to touch what you wanted to change.

Suddenly, the pressure around his body was gone. Noise returned to its proper volume and Jack instantly felt warmer due to the ice's absence. What he was most preoccupied with though was the pain. The ice hadn't been transformed, it had been ripped away, and every part of skin that had been touching it had been ripped off to some degree.

Jack snapped his eyes open as his knees hit the wooden floor. His hands weren't bleeding per say, but they were pink and raw. Judging by the pain in his feet from the tops pushing against the floor, they looked the same. So was the left side of his face most likely.

He looked up, expecting to see Phil looking a mixture of pleased at freeing him and worried over the damage it caused. What he saw instead was another wooly creature, easily the size of several yeti.

A wooly mammoth.

A very familiar wooly mammoth.

"Marian?" Jack reached up to scratch the underside of her trunk like he had used to, but she jerked the appendage away. "Aw, don't be like that. I'm sorry I didn't visit. But the Old Man did essentially kick me out and without him to help me out I couldn't get through the tropics hey! Marian! Put me down!"

The mammoth had wrapped her trunk around Jack's middle and was now carrying him through the walls he had crashed through.

"Marian, really, I can walk," he glanced at his still healing feet, "well, I can float there."

She snorted softly and didn't lessen her grip. Jack sighed at his fate. Wait. If Marian was here, than that meant the other Guardians were fighting -

They entered into the lounge. It wasn't much of one anymore, as two walls were now gone and most the furniture was destroyed. There was a Guardian each in a corner, a few yeti scattered around and in the center of the room stood Old Man Winter.

He didn't look any different than he had a century and a half ago. Just a few wisps of white hair on the top of his head, but a healthy beard that glistened with ice beads. His eyes were a clear crystal blue, with maybe one extra wrinkle around them. Despite being called Old Man Winter, he didn't actually look that old. 50 maybe, by human standards.

At Marian's entrance, all fighting stopped to look at her.

Tooth cried out in dismay. "Jack! Your face!"

"I'll heal, now you wanna toss me my staff? You're hovering over it."

She bent down to pick it up and started her way towards him. Her progress was halted by Old Man throwing a three foot icicle like a dagger in front of her nose which then stuck into the wall. North, who had been approaching Marian from the other side wasn't as lucky. A solid block of ice hit his shoulder and knocked him to the ground.

"You!" Old Man pointed a finger at Jack. "You turned to _him_ for help?" The finger moved so it pointed to North, who was struggling to his feet. Now that Jack was paying attention, North looked the worst of the Guardians. Old Man had obviously been targeting the Cossack.

"Apparently the years have been really bad for you, because you're babbling. What are you talking about?"

"Magic! Peter said you're taking magic lessons from this fake winter spirit!"

"Wait, are you telling me that after you dumped me on Mother Nature and called me a bad apprentice you're jealous that you're not my teacher anymore?" Jack couldn't help but laugh. If he hadn't been in Marian's grip, he would have fallen to his knees in mirth. "You hated teaching me."

"You are a winter elemental! That means you're mine!"

"Whoa, slow down there, mate. Jack's his own spirit."

Old Man Winter turned to snarl at Bunny. "I don't expect you to understand, rabbit. You, like the fat man over there, aren't a true nature spirit. I bet you've ever even met Belenus."

Bunny didn't have a comeback, so Jack assumed the Winter Seasonal was right on the money.

"Jack, what's he talking about?" North had come to stand next him. The Russian reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, but Marian jerked him out of the way.

Jack rolled his eyes at her, not that she could see. "Marian, don't tell me you're jealous too."

In response, her hold on him tightened and Jack just sighed. "Look, you guys have always been Guardians. From day one, and we all know you don't interact much with other spirits."

There was ashamed weight shifts around room. They all felt bad about that, and Jack was still learning how to put that behind him, but they had made good progress in these past four years.

"Elementals have this sorta hierarchy we follow. And I don't mean elemental in that our magic is linked to earth or water or like that. I meant elemental in that we are tied to the elements of nature, specifically seasons. North, you know my elemental magic is strongest with water, most winter spirits are, but not all of them. I know some ice giants who have earth powers. And Old Man here has strong control over wind. But I'm a winter elemental, meaning I'm strongest during Winter. Don't ask me why."

Old Man snorted. "It's because you were created during Winter. Your new teacher hasn't taught you anything."

Marian made a series of noises.

"And now Marian tells me _she_ had to free you from that ice. You haven't improved magically at all!"

"Jack has made lots of progress." North defended his student, arms crossed over his chest, but secretly, Jack had to agree with his old mentor. While Jack now knew more _about_ magic, he hadn't actually gotten better at using it. Though, being able to sense it was handy. Too bad he hadn't recognized Old Man's magic earlier.

"What's this hierarchy, Jack?" Tooth asked. She was slowly inching closer, the others too. Old Man hadn't seemed to noticed yet, but the Guardians were all creeping towards Jack and Marian.

"It's like your tooth fairies. They're a part of you, and so are under your command. Old Man Winter is the Winter Seasonal. He _is_ Winter. And since I'm a winter elemental, I, ideally, have to defer to him. Just like Mother Nature is his boss. Except he doesn't always listen to her and I didn't always listen to him. Which is why, again, you tossed me out the door and into the garden."

"Anyone would after all those pranks! Were snow sculptures of me and Marian in those positions really called for?"

"You're right, it was unfair to Marian." Jack tipped his head back to look the wooly mammoth in the eye. "Sorry about that girl."

Sandy was rolling in laughter, ever closer until he was directly above the mammoth. Quickly, he blew sand down onto her and Marian dropped like a stone. North caught Jack before he could hit the floor and Bunny helped peel Marian's trunk from around his waist. Once back on solid ground, Jack found his staff pressed into his hand and his body quickly pushed back behind those of the other four Guardians. Old Man might have been targeting North before, but now it was obvious his real target was Jack.

He felt a surge of love for this new family of his. Here they were, putting themselves between him and danger without a second thought. All his negative thoughts about Christmas and Easter, and thus North and Bunny faded away. Because, well, the past was the past. He'd never forget those three hundred years where they ignored him, but seeing their backs in front of him made him realize that the past four years had more than made up for that. And it's not like he had been alone before he'd been made a Guardian. There had been Peter Pan, two brief encounters with Mother Nature, and a full century with Old Man Winter and all the spirits who lived at his castle in the South Pole.

Moon above, he guessed that made the Old Man a strange sort of family too.

Gently, Jack pushed his family aside to stand in front of them. They stood close at his back, Tooth's hand on his shoulder and North's hand fisted in the back of his hoodie ready to pull him back.

"Old Man, why are you here? At the Pole? Why not just track me down at Burgess?" He waved a hand around the destroyed room. "Why all-"

Jack cut himself off, because he knew exactly why. You don't spend a hundred years with someone without getting to know them. "You wanted to show off!"

It was just like Jack's first day with him, when Old Man Winter had flown them on Marian's back to the hottest place on Earth just to show Jack the extent of Winter's powers. Jack had clung to his back, unable to touch the ground and awed by Old Man's control over the weather. If he had been looking for a similar reaction from North, he hadn't gotten it.

His old mentor coughed into his hand, but didn't deny it.

"And you called me childish!" Jack marched forward, the Guardians letting him go now that it looked like Old Man was cowed and not going to be throwing any magic around. Sandy however, still had his whips out. Jack couldn't help but feel warm at that.

"I had thought, that when you grew up a bit and wanted to actually learn, you would come back to my castle. Not come and ask a Guardian for help." Jack was surprised at the venom in the word. Old Man Winter had never said anything bad about them during their time together.

"Why wouldn't I?" He causally leaned against his staff. "I am one now."

"WHAT?" boomed a woman, voice rolling thunder.

Everyone turned to the no longer there outside wall. Standing in the center of the hole was Mother Nature. Being in the perpetual Winter of the north, she was in a fur trimmed white dress. The butterflies that followed her around were flapping their wings while they rested on her head and if the tornado raging behind her was any clue she was pissed. The glare she was sending Jack's way made it obvious just who exactly she was angry at.

She stepped forward and Jack immediately stepped back. He expected to be hit with his own personal lightening bolt any second now.

"What do you mean, you're a Guardian?" Mother Nature continued to stalk forward. Jack tried to retreat, he very much wanted his family at his back right now, but the ground beneath his feet had turned to quick sand and there was a cyclone starting to build behind his back. It shrunk as Mother Nature got closer, encircling her, Old Man Winter, and Jack.

He looked over his shoulder, the Guardians were battling the ever stronger winds, trying to get to him, because it was very obvious Mother Nature was planning on dishing some serious hurt.

"You were not created three hundred years ago to be a Guardian."

Before Jack could even get out a protest, his body jerked as lightening coursed through him and the cyclone whisked them away.


	2. Purpose

**Chapter 2 - Purpose**

* * *

><p>When Jack came too, it was to find himself once again tied with vines to a tree in Mother Nature's home. The Sun was shining directly into his face. She had probably done it to both cause him discomfort and hurry up his waking. As it was, it had been the shouting that woke him up.<p>

"Gaia mentions this weird storm in at the North Pole and insists I go check it, and what do I find out is that Jack Frost is a Guardian!"

"I didn't know either! I just learned a few months ago he was taking magic lessons from one of them."

Really, Jack had no idea Peter even talked to adult spirits. Though honestly, it was just as likely he had told a winter spirit and they told Old Man Winter. Six-year-olds had no idea when to not talk about something. Even if they had been a spirit for centuries.

"I told _you_ to teach him!" There was the smell of burning in the air. Jack was pretty sure Old Man had just been hit with Mother Nature's favorite weapon – the lightening bolt.

"And I told you I had enough! I even brought him back here to tell you that!"

"You need him and you know it!"

"Not any time soon! I have a couple centuries."

"Need me for what?"

Jack found himself on the receiving end of two death glares.

"I told you to go back to the South Pole when you were here a few years ago."

"One – I didn't. Old Man hated me. Two – that was a hundred and fifty years ago. You really lose track of time here, don't you?"

Mother Nature blushed and mumbled something about selectively breeding animals with low birthrates, long gestation periods, and a extended time to sexual maturity.

"When did you become a Guardian?" Old Man asked.

"Almost four years ago."

Mother Nature sent a swarm of wasps after Old Man. "I know I lose myself in my work, but you have no excuse! You knew he had a new teacher in a matter of months but couldn't bother to learn he became a Guardian?!"

Like Old Man Winter's use of the word, it sounded dirty.

"What do you have against the Guardians?"

Mother turned to answer him. "They're unnatural. They're the only spirits not associated with Gaia in some form or another."

"Really? Bunny has some impressive growing skills. You might get along."

Ouch, Jack didn't need the wasps turning their attention to him.

"Just because some of them might have elemental magic, doesn't mean they have a connection to Gaia. Every other spirit is an elemental, tied to Gaia's natural cycle. Even your friend Peter is connected to Belenus though he barely has magic himself. The Guardians have no ties to anyone but the children. They are not connected to nature, they are separate, disabled. They are useless."

"They do a lot more good than you do! I've only ever seen you out of your house once, and haven't seen Old Man out and about since my apprenticeship ended. I don't even know what the other Seasonals look like. I never see you guys do anything. We, the Guardians, on the other hand, actually make a difference to the lives of children. And where were you four years ago when Pitch Black attacked them?"

"Pitch Black attacked?"

If Jack hadn't been tied to a tree, he would have faceplamed. As it was, he just knocked his head against the bark a few times.

Old Man Winter wandered over, stings almost healed, just in time to hear Mother's response and grin. He, apparently, had heard about that, if not Jack's involvement.

Mother stuck her nose in the air. "It was obviously a very brief battle and I do not concern myself with short term things. Nature preservers and life always wins. If Pitch had defeated the Guardians, nothing would have changed for me and nothing would have changed for you."

Jack wanted to differ. It was because of Pitch his life was better now that it had been before. Why he had a family and a happy life. But in truth, if the Nightmare King had won Jack couldn't see his daily life from back then having changed too much. Throwing snowballs at kids who still couldn't see him. Isolation. Maybe he would have eventually figured out how to get back to the South Pole, or would have run into Old Man to continue his apprenticeship. Compared to his life these past few years, helping with holidays, helping Jamie with his homework, and sleeping in the Bennett's freezer, it wouldn't have been a good life.

"Well, it was because Pitch Black attacked them that the Moon named me a Guardian."

That made both of the other spirit's pause.

"The Moon? You're sure?"

"Well, that's what they said."

"They lied." Old Man sounded very sure of that fact.

"No way. I mean, the Moon creates every spirit, right? That's what Peter said. And obviously, the first three hundred years of my spirit life I was doing something wrong because I didn't have a single believer. Even you guys have pockets of them, though they do call you different things in different places. But then I managed to get my teeth from when I human and my memories prove I'm a Guardian. I died saving my sister, making her happy in the face of death. Doing that now, making kids happy, completes me. It makes me happy. I don't care if I'm a winter elemental and thus under both of yours' control. I'm a Guardian, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

He stuck his chin out, feeling a little silly after that speech. It didn't help that Old Man was laughing.

"You like being a Guardian! And hanging out with that bunch of freaks!"

"They pay more attention to me then you ever did."

"They ignored you for three hundred years."

"Yeah well, they never abused me." That line didn't have the impact he had sorta been hoping for.

North had described his past like that once to the other Guardians during a conversation Jack had overheard. Jack hadn't minded his treatment in the past, be it by Old Man Winter or the yeti, but it seemed to be a huge red flag in the minds of the other Guardians. They hadn't liked hearing about Jack's past in that manner. He had thought, maybe the two in front of him would share a similar view point.

Apparently not. But then again, Old Man Winter had been one of the 'abusers' as North put it and Mother Nature was no wuss on dishing out punishments.

"Look, Mother, what did you mean back at North's? About me not being created to be a Guardian?"

She sighed. "I know I'm a little out of touch with the world. Oh, okay, a lot," she amended at Jack's look, "but I can't believe that not only did something major happen without me knowing about it, but that it happened at all."

Mother waved her hands and the vines holding Jack to the tree released him. "Come on, I guess at the very least I can offer you something to eat. It's not your fault you're in this mess."

Jack was hesitant to call him being a Guardian a mess at all, but kept his mouth shut. Instead, he followed Mother Nature along one of the many paths through the trees. He had only ever seen her garden at the edge of them and had assumed the building she called home had been beyond it, but instead she led him and Old Man to a large tree house in the middle of the forest. She rode a vine swing up to it, but the two winter elementals flew up on their own power.

Spirits don't eat much, so Jack wasn't surprised at the empty cupboards. What was surprising that they didn't have the normal food he was used to seeing stocked at any of the Guardians' places. Packaged, ready to eat stuff. Things that lasted, because you may get it one day and not use it for months, or years later.

No, Mother Nature only had two things, both of which were in a magic running fridge. Milk and honey.

Seeing his raised eyebrow, she explained. "I find it hard to eat anything that was alive at one point. And I mean anything, not just meat. No fruit, no vegetables, no grain. Milk and honey are pretty much the only options."

She heated up three cups of milk, added a spoon of honey to each of them, and then directed her guests to table.

Jack sat down, preparing himself for a long conversation. He opened his mouth right away, but a head shake from Old Man prevented him from actually saying something until he was almost done with his drink.

"Tell me honestly, Jack, who's the most powerful spirit you've met."

"You."

"And then?"

"The Old Man."

"Third?"

Jack opened his mouth, then closed it. He wanted to say North, but had a feeling that Mother Nature wouldn't like that answer. Plus, the other Guardians' reactions to what he could do with magic was making him at least consider the idea that he was the strongest spirit of the group. Not physically, no way, but spirits are beings of magic and so power levels were judged by that. North might be able to do more spells, but Jack could do more complex ones and he was just beginning to understand the magic road in front of him. Given a few years, he'd have more spells under his belt and would be able to out perform North in any capacity.

"You." Mother Nature guessed and Jack slowly nodded in agreement.

"That's why you weren't created to be a Guardian."

"Cuz I have a lot of magic?"

"Not just a lot. A Seasonal's worth."

"Oh, no way. Old Man will tell you, I suck. And North will also tell you how it's a weakness that I rely on a conduit."

Mother Nature shot Old Man a look that turned him sheepish.

"That would be my fault. I forced you to use a conduit. I didn't like the idea of being replaced."

"I'm not becoming the Winter Seasonal! I told you guys, I'm a Guardian."

"Jack. Maybe the Moon did select you as a good addition to the Guardians to help them defeat Pitch Black, but he certainly did not create you with that goal in mind. The amount of magic in you, I knew when I first saw you on that church roof that you would be replacing Old Man Winter eventually. Have you seen him teach other winter spirits? No? Because no one else has the power. Water is a tricky element. It's versatile and changes how it behaves all the time so it takes a while to master. Old Man Winter _was_ supposed to teacher you first how to wield your magic and then about how to make the season work as a whole and then about how Winter works with Gaia."

"But why?"

"Jack," Old Man rubbed his hands over his eyes. "It's obvious your education is lacking, and there's no one to blame for that but me. I'm sorry for that, but do you remember Vaya? That ice giant who just went to sleep one time and didn't wake up?"

"Yeah. Her body turned to ice and started merging with your ice castle."

"Spirits, like humans and animals, are a part of Nature." Mother drew a circle in the air with her hands. "So we, well, not me, but everyone under me, eventually dies as part of that circle. Spirits aren't immortal Jack, we have our own cycle even if it takes a lot longer to complete. For Winter spirits, the cycle is usually shorter. It has to do with the season. The days are short, the conditions hard, and falling asleep in the cold is such a seductive death that it's felt even by spirits. It's the most peaceful death anyone could have, and so people choose it. It's hard to resist."

"I'm starting to feel it." Old Man pressed a hand to his chest. "I still have a bit of time, I'm guessing two hundred years, but then you'll be the new Seasonal."

"Wait, I'm gonna die? Again? I mean, I thought we were immortal! I know the others said that they age, though slowly, and I know we can be killed, but you're saying we die? Like, as in old age?"

"Except me." Mother Nature pointed out. "I'm too connected to Gaia."

"Nu-uh. I don't believe it. I've already died once, thank you very much. I don't want to do that again."

Jack stood up quickly, pushing back his chair. "Find yourself a new winter elemental with a ton of power."

The wooden floor grew up around his feet, preventing him from going anywhere.

"There is no one else. The Moon made you specifically to replace Old Man Winter. If he didn't want you to take his place, you wouldn't have as much magic as you do. And if you were meant to be a Guardian, then he would have made you one from the start like the others were. We aren't like humans who have accidental children. Each spirit is created with a purpose. All by the Moon, because Gaia is busy with plant and animal life and because from his position in the sky he can see patterns she misses sometimes."

"But...but." Jack pulled his staff to his chest. The wind, feeling his distress, rushed in to circle around him. "Old Man, you told me that all it took to live a happy life as a spirit was a few believers and a job well done. The only job I've felt joy doing has been making kids happy. Being a Guardian. Maybe, maybe I wasn't, wasn't," Jack started crying, but he forced the words out. He had to make them understand, these spirits with the ability to control his life. "Even if it wasn't the Moon's plan for me, nothing, nothing has felt more right than being a Guardian."

Old Man Winter was trying to ignore the tears. It was obvious he thought Jack should man up to his purpose, to come back and train with him. Mother Nature was a different story. The wood around his feet receded, and it seemed that she understood just a little bit. Not about being a Guardian, since she obviously hated them, but about wanting something it didn't look like you could have. Jack briefly wondered what that was, but with his feet free he could now leave.

He did. As fast as the wind could take him. Straight to the Pole, right into North's chest where his sudden appearance and sobs disrupted a meeting that was most likely about how to rescue him from Mother Nature. Or how to get Marian back home because she was still sleeping in the lounge.

His family kept asking questions. Was he hurt? Why was he crying? Where had he been? Did they need to beat someone up? What was wrong? What had Mother Nature meant?

Jack couldn't bring himself to answer any of the questions, he just kept sobbing into North's chest and refused to let got of the Cossack's shirt. He only did when Sandy sent him his favorite dream, swimming with a pod of dolphins.


	3. Opening Up

**Chapter 3 – Opening Up**

When Jack became aware of the world, there were fingers moving in his hair and a soft voice whispering addresses. Slowly, he opened his eyes. He was in a bed, most likely still at North's judging by the ice walls. Even though he couldn't see Tooth because he was facing the other way, he could tell she was sitting on the edge of the bed. The little fairies were eerily quite, not a peep from any of them, and Tooth continued listing off addresses in that low voice of hers.

This was why she was his favorite. She always made time for him and it was the little things that showed she cared. Stopping by Jamie's house to see if he was there, even if no one in Burgess had lost a tooth, and doing her best now to see that he was comfortable and got what he needed.

Jack rolled over.

Tooth's hand stopped moving and she glanced down briefly before returning to her fairies. "712 Elm St in-" she turned back around and smiled at him. "Hey. You're awake."

"Yeah." He nudged her hip and her fingers went back to carding his hair.

The fairies were peeping again, but still keeping the volume down and Tooth hadn't raised her voice either. Jack appreciated the calm. He wasn't ready to move yet.

Eventually though, a lull in orders came. The mini fairies all left and Tooth had some time to donate all her attention to Jack. Her wings buzzed to lift her in the air, Jack was surprised they had stayed still for as long as they had, and Jack pushed himself to sit up against the headboard.

"How long was I sleeping?"

"Almost a full day. I know Summer is just around the corner, but that's a long sleep even then. What happened?"

Jack dismissed the question, something Mother Nature had said ringing in his ears. The Guardians weren't connected to Nature. They didn't have cycles of weakness and strength.

"Tooth, do you ever sleep?"

She blinked at him. "No. Not unless Sandy makes me."

"What about Bunny? Or North? Or Sandy?"

"Sandy sleeps all the time Jack, you've seen him."

He raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer about the others.

"I've never seen them sleep, but I would assume yes. What else would they do when their holidays aren't close?"

"Do they need to sleep, or just do it?"

"Jack, what's this about?"

He shut his eyes and shook his head. Four years, and he never noticed how different he was from the other Guardians? Okay, so he had. But not like this, not at the core of who they were. Then again, Jack had never known there could be a fundamental difference. Spirits were spirits, all created by the Moon. Why would there be differences other than power level and personality?

Jack shoved back the covers, startling Tooth.

"Jack. Jack, talk to me. What did Mother Nature do to you? Jack, what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, I do." Tooth flew to block his path to the door. "Jack, you came here really upset. Something happened. Something big. If you don't talk to me, I'll have to guess."

Jack kept his mouth shut.

"Do they want you to stop being our friend?"

Oh, he couldn't help it. Jack laughed. Judging by Tooth's shocked expression it hadn't been what she expected. But really, stop being their friend? That would never happen. No, it was that he had a death to look forward to, again. That his recently found purpose was fake. A lie. A delusion he had created.

The Guardians had come to him, saying the Moon had chosen him to be a Guardian. And Jack, desperate to belong somewhere and have a family, and taken what he learned from his memories and made them fit that idea. That he was a Guardian.

He didn't think the Guardians had lied about that. He figured it was something lost in translation. The Moon wanted him to help, not actually be a Guardian.

Well, it was too late now.

Jack Frost had taken an Oath. He was a Guardian. Protector of Children. He had made no such promises about being a Seasonal.

"Everything they want from me Tooth, I'm not letting them get."

And since Tooth was in his way, he made his exit out the window. The wind caught him and asked where he wanted to go. The answer was obvious. Burgess. Home. Jamie. The ten year old who had a knack for getting Jack to talk about his feelings and take action.

* * *

><p>When Jack arrived at Burgess, it was later than he wanted it to be. 3:00 AM to be precise. Jamie was asleep, on top of the covers due to the heat with fleece pants containing a snowflake pattern and a T-shirt of his favorite TV show.<p>

Jack let himself in through the window and then settled against it to watch his friend sleep.

Friend, who was he kidding? Jamie's house was his house, the kid had said so himself three years ago. Brothers. They were brothers. And Sophie was his sister. And North was his uncle, as was Sandy, while Tooth and Bunny were his cousins.

Family.

After so long of dreaming of one, he had one here in front of him. A good one. One he'd do anything for, despite it's newness.

One he had no desire to leave.

"Jack?"

He started from his musing to see Jamie sitting up in bed, rubbing at his eyes. Jack squinted as the elementary student flipped on the lamp near his bed, destroying Jack's night vision.

"Jamie? You should be sleeping."

"Your brooding crept into my dream."

"I was not brooding."

"Uh-huh. What's wrong?"

"They want to take me away."

All sleep in Jamie's face disappeared. "Who's they? And take you away where?"

Jack jumped down from the window to join Jamie on the bed. After the kid had insulated himself with the covers. "Old Man Winter and Mother Nature. To the South Pole."

Still feeling the hint of Tooth's fingers in his hair, Jack curled up next to Jamie to press against him. The physical touch was comforting. Jamie sunk down into the mattress and insinuated himself between Jack's arms. The winter spirit tucked his younger brother under his chin and then started explaining what had happened since he left earlier to deal with the storm that morning.

"I thought Guardians lived forever, as long as they had believers."

"Me too." Jack pulled Jamie closer. "But, I'm different than Bunny and the rest of them. I'm a Guardian, I know it in my heart, but I'm an elemental too. They die. I'll go to sleep in the snow, a thousand years in the future, and die."

"I know there's no way I'm living that long, but I always liked the idea that you would. A world without a Guardian of Fun? No one would like that world." Jamie snuck a hand over the top of his cover cocoon and grabbed a hold of Jack's hoodie. As if he were starting to turn to ice right now. "Can you, I don't know, stop being an elemental? Or ask Manny to not make you one? He did that to the Guardians right?"

"You know Jame, that's an excellent idea. I'll try it. Just not tonight." Dawn was creeping through the window. Jack felt guilty for waking Jamie and then keeping him up with all his worries and fears on a school night. His brother read the thought instantly.

"Jack, talking to you is way more important than staying awake for school."

"Not true. School is important." Still, he appreciated the statement. "I'm gonna leave. You might be able to catch an hour."

"Okay," Jamie yawned. "Keep me updated?"

"Always, little brother."

Jamie smiled at the name. "Stay safe, big brother."

Jack gave a salute and flew out the window.

* * *

><p>Jack hadn't really expected anything other than silence from the Moon and that's exactly what he got. So he decided to go looking for answers himself. In North's library.<p>

When he first slipped into the workshop, he ran right into Phil. Who cuffed his ears, shook him by the shoulders, and then gave a speech he could only half understand about how worried they all were. Jack had been avoiding the Guardian's all week, and Phil himself had left the Pole to look for him.

He had gone straight to Jamie and the kid had reassured the yeti enough that Jack was safe. For the time being that was all Phil could have asked for. But now, with Jack in front of him, Phil was glad to see with his own eyes that Jack was fine.

"Can you please wait on dragging me to North?" Jack asked as Phil carried him over the shoulder to a lift. "It's just, I came here for a reason and I need to go to the library. North'll make a fuss and I'll never find my answers."

Phil heaved a dramatic sigh and then turned directions. Jack smiled.

"So, hey Phil, just how long have you been Workshop Overseer? Because you're way older than me."

He tapped Jack's back three times.

"Three centuries?" Jack guessed and Phil growled an affirmative. "And, I can't believe I haven't asked this before, but are yeti spirits?"

Phil stopped suddenly and plucked Jack off his shoulder to place him on the floor in front of him. Really, his friends were getting to know him too well if they could see past his jovial tone.

The yeti grumbled and gargled for a bit, but Jack just shook his head. He couldn't understand a thing. Understanding the problem, Phil pushed open the door behind Jack and they entered the library. The yeti ran a finger along a shelf until he came to a particular book. He pulled it out and plopped it into Jack's hand.

It was written in ancient Icelandic, and it was only Jack's knowledge of it's modern counterpart that allowed him to understand that the title said the book was about yeti. There was no way Jack'd be able to read it without some type of dictionary, but he flipped to the table of contents to see if he could at least get a gist of what the book would talk about. Were yeti spirits? He hoped they weren't, because knowing he had made one mistake about the nature of the Guardians and spirits was enough. But two?

By the time he figured out the chapter titles, understood that yes, yeti were creatures and not spirits, Phil was gone. He'd left to let Jack study in peace. Knowing Phil, he'd tell North he was around eventually so he might as well get started on the research he came to do. He could read the yeti book later.

Jack didn't know how long he'd been in the library. Hours, days, maybe a week. He didn't need to eat and sleep and so didn't notice the passing of time. Vaguely, he could recall yeti poking their heads in, checking to see if he was still there, but he was left to himself the entire time.

It didn't matter. There wasn't a single book that could help him. There were a ton on magic, on the history of different things, lots of folktales and Jack had been amused to find one that had a couple of poems about him. What was missing was books about spirits. Apparently, spirits didn't write about themselves. And looking back on Old Man Winter and Mother Nature's attitude, maybe they didn't feel the need to. They were so sure about their knowledge, why write what was obvious? And no one had thought to cover the 'perversion' that was the Guardians.

The only thing he had found about spirits were in human discussions about souls and the essence of an individual, in talks about ghosts. And well, since Jack was a boy brought back to life, maybe something that would work for ghosts might work for him. There were some similarities in the mythos. Selective observance only to certain people, being tied to objects and people. At the very least, it was worth looking into.

Which was why the first voice he had heard in awhile asked "Jack, why are you looking at books about exorcism?"

He fell off his perch on the top of a shelf and straight into North's arms. "North! I, uh, thought it would be great for a Halloween prank."

"Jack."

He wasn't sure he was ready to talk about what he had learned yet. His family knew there was an issue and Jack was okay with that. They were hard to hide nowadays, but he still liked to keep things close to the chest when possible. He retreated a lot.

"Jack." North repeated, righting the younger spirit. "It will help if you talk. And I think is obvious it involves me and other Guardians to some extent, yes? So. Why are you looking at these books?"

He gestured to the tome still in Jack's hand.

Jack closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked into North's face. "I want to stop being a winter elemental. I just want to be a Guardian."

He took off flying, bouncing from book to book as they were scattered around the library and talking about what he had found. "See, look, this one talks about separating a spirit from what's tying them to world, though I can't think of what mine would be, maybe the pond, maybe my grave. And this one, this talks about purification. Hynsier wrote something about a spell that can help you gain an affinity to a different a element, so I figure maybe we could find away to reverse it. If not, that book over there talked about repressing magic. That's an option, cuz then I can be like Tooth and not have any magic. Starting snowball fights would be hard but that'd be better than..."

Jack paused in his flurry of motion, giving time to let North catch up to him. "Better than what Jack?" his uncle asked, turning Jack around to face him.

Jack clutched his staff tighter to him and North responded by bringing him into a hug.

"They want to take me away North. Apparently, it's all this magic I have. I'm supposed to replace Old Man Winter. I was chosen for that, not to be Guardian."

"Nonsense. You _are _Guardian. Manny chose you."

"Did he really? Did he actually say 'Jack Frost is a new Guardian, have him take the Oath' or did you just think he did? Maybe he just wanted me to help you guys, not join you."

"It does not matter what Manny said or did not say." North pulled away and placed a hand on Jack's chest. "Here, you are a Guardian. I believe it. No has looked after the children like you have, even when we forgot. There is no reason to stop being an elemental too."

"But I have too!" Moon, he was crying again. "North, I'm not like you guys!"

"True, you are small. And young. But where it counts, you are."

"No I'm not!" He pushed away. "North, you don't have to sleep."

"So?"

"I do."

"That is because you are connected to Winter."

"And what season are you tied to?"

"None."

"And Tooth? Sandy? Bunny? None of you guys are connected to a season."

"Jack, why is this big deal?"

"Because it means we're different. Mother Nature called you guys unnatural, freaks. I've thought there'd be something in here to prove her wrong, but there's nothing in your library about the nature of spirits. At all."

"Jack, what exactly did Mother Nature say?"

"That spirits are tied to Nature. They are connected Gaia, are associated with an element and a season. That, like all life, they die. And that the Guardians, you and the others, are the only ones who aren't."

"What does that have to do with taking you away?"

"Because Old Man Winter is starting to die. And like I said, I'm supposed to replace him. Mother Nature said _that's_ what I was chosen to be, three hundred years ago. She could tell because only a Seasonal would have as much power as I do."

"Can't you be both a Seasonal and Guardian?"

"I don't think so. I thought you guys were reclusive before I meet you, but that's nothing compared to the Seasonals. It's not that they're hiding all the time, they're constantly working. I spent a century with Old Man. Being a Seasonal is like...like if Sandy didn't work through sand and could only give dreams to children by touching them. And he wasn't allowed to put them on a schedule like they are now. Every child in the world would need to be physically touched every single night.

"So since I don't want that, I want to stay with you guys even if I do turn to ice sooner, I have to take away what the Moon gave me, all my magic, so he'll be forced to create a new replacement for Old Man and I'll just be a Guardian."

"No."

"No?" Did North want him gone? After helping him with four Christmases? After agreeing to turn Thanksgiving into a holiday just for them? After tutoring him in magic? Had North known all along, knew what his power reservoir meant, and hadn't said anything?

"No. Because your magic is part of what makes you Jack Frost, and I will not let you block off a part of you. All this?" North threw is arm out to incorporate all of the library and Jack realized how much of a mess he had made. He had to have been in the room for days. "This is Plan Z. Last resort. We will find other solution first."

"Promise they won't make me stop being a Guardian?"

"I promise, Jack Frost."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** One more chapter to go!


	4. Evolution

**Chapter 4 - Evolution**

* * *

><p>Jack left it to North to tell the others. He had no desire to go through all that again, but they all came to find him hanging out in the Imagination Station with the yeti afterwards. The hugging and touching that came with their arrival was awkward and unsettling to say the least, but Jack endured it. You endure anything for family.<p>

Bunny in particular was having a hard time understanding just what Mother Nature meant by calling the Guardians unnatural. After all, his powers were very much aligned with earth and growing things. How could he not be connected to Nature and Gaia? How could everything she had said, they hadn't noticed about themselves?

They were each roughly a thousand years old. The only other spirits that old were Seasonals and Old Man Winter was out the door. The cycle of life had happened without them even noticing.

"We need to go to the source. Manny." North had insisted that as the creator of all spirits, the Moon would be able to shed light on just how the Guardians differed from other spirits and what he had actually intended for Jack to be.

"What if he says Seasonal?" Jack questioned as they made their way to a mountain top. All of them had insisted that while he occasionally spoke to them at the Pole, the best place was actually someplace else. The spot where the moon's light was most direct. Unlike the Sun, whose rays consonantly shone directly on the equator, the Moon's orbit was a bit off center. Tonight, to Jack's dismay, the most magic spot was in India. The only reason he wasn't melting was the thermablanket he had wrapped around himself. Seriously. Best Santa gift ever.

"Then we figure out a way for you to be both," Tooth insisted as she paced him.

Jack was beyond touched with how much his family wanted to keep him.

"So, what do we do?" Jack asked as they reached the peak.

Sandy answered with an image of them standing in a circle around a circular mark on the stone. Jack could see the mark on the ground, it reeked of magic though he didn't know if the others could tell. "We should clear the stones from inside the mark."

Bunny tapped the ground, hoping to use a series of tunnels to send the small rocks away, but none opened. "That's strange."

"That's magic," North answered. "Powerful magic that does not like to be disturbed. We use our hands."

Thankfully, none of the stones were too large and so the circular mark on the mountain face was cleared easily. Now that Jack could look at it completely, the mark reminded him of sunbleached walls, but in reverse. When Jamie had taken down a poster for a show he no longer watched, the paint behind it had been darker than the walls. The circle on the rock was lighter than the stone around it and surrounded by a vein of silver. It had been strong magic that had created it. But then, Jack supposed the Moon had a limitless supply if he kept churning out new spirits.

"North, you sure this will work even though the full moon is tomorrow?"

"Of course! Manny is most powerful at full moon, but we are not asking for spell. We are asking questions. Talking takes little effort."

"Don't worry mate," Bunny gave him a pat on the back. "This is a planning session, not a doing session. No matter what Manny says, we'll find a solution."

"Thanks Bunny."

Sandy started waving his arms, bringing their attention to a patch of moonlight. It was separate from the rest of the light the Moon was giving off, circular and with a blue tinge. Slowly, it was making it's way to the magic bleached circle.

They all rushed over to it, standing equal distance around the edge and silently watched the moonlight come closer. Jack was nervous, twisting his hands on his staff as he kept his eyes on the moving patch of light. He knew this was important, the best and only way to get answers, but that almost made the task more daunting. Talking to the Moon!

"He's never talked to me before, what if he doesn't answer?" What if the reason was because Jack had never been meant to be a Guardian?

"I can ask questions."

"Thanks North."

The light reached the edge of the circle mark. The silver lining it started to softly glow and Jack could feel the magic in the air build up. Were as the magic of the storm almost two weeks ago, Old Man Winter's magic, had been deep and cold the Moon felt warm and shallow, like a puddle in the sun. Jack had a feeling that the shallow nature of the Moon's magic was simply Jack's inability to gauge his true power. Mother Nature had asked him once who was the most powerful spirit he had meet. He had answered her. But now, he suspected that compared to the Moon, she had as much magic as Peter Pan. That was, almost none. Jack swallowed thickly.

North started talking when the light filled half the circle. "Manny! We have serious question for you."

Jack squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted and dreaded North's question, because he wanted and dreaded the Moon's answers.

"Our newest Guardian, Jack Frost, when you created him, was it to join us?"

And the Moon _answered._ It was the first time Jack had heard him speak. His voice was smooth, like a mirror, and just as reflective so the words echoed softly in the circle. "No."

Jack's eyes snapped up to look at the Moon, hanging there big and bright. It had been a source of comfort to him once, then one of frustration, and now, heartbreak. His throat was dry, he couldn't have spoken if he wanted to.

"What about when you brought him to our attention?" Tooth asked, wings surprisingly still. "Did you mean for him to take the Oath?"

"Yes."

Sandy gave Jack a double thumbs up. A Guardian! He was a Guardian! But there was still the issue of his original purpose.

"And being a Seasonal? Is Jack to still be one?"

The silence that followed unnerved Jack. It was as if the Moon himself didn't know the answer to that question, and that was scary. The Moon was the most powerful magical creature around! He created every spirit!

There was a shift under his feet and Jack looked down in alarm. There was something coming towards them, something whose magic felt just as shallow as the Moon's but it wasn't warm. It was...boiling.

"Guys." the other Guardians hadn't noticed the other magical presence. Bunny was the only one to turn his attention from the Moon to Jack.

"What's up mate?"

"There's something under us. And coming fast."

Bunny looked down in alarm just as the Moon spoke again. "Having two conversations at once is distracting."

The earth cracked beneath all of their feet. North swore in Russian and Jack had just enough time to see Tooth's face across from him take on a look of shock before he found himself falling in the dark surround by rock. Tunnels, tunnels heading down to who knew where.

Jack did his best to shake off the images of Pitch that flooded his mind, the Boogieman's chrome eyes and bright smile fading into the shadows, his taunting, his voice _you're not one of them, what did __**you**__ do?_ Was this his fault too? Should he have shouted a warning? Not try to go against Nature? He hated, hated tunnels!

He continued to fall, but Pitch's actual voice didn't ring in his ear and Jack remembered that he now had four more years of experience underhis belt and half a year of magic training. He pointed his staff below him and conjured up a shelf of ice. He slammed into it, but he had stopped falling. High above him, he could see a bit of the sky, stars and a sliver of the Moon.

"Wind!"

His friend answered his call, but as soon as the slightest breeze ruffled his hair the rock above him snapped out. Jack was trapped from below and as soon as his ice melted he'd be back to falling. He looked down, the ice was already thinner than he wanted it to be. It was hot, and getting warmer.

Jack tapped his staff on the ice, thickening it and then a root from the _rock_, who knew roots grew this deep, stole it from his hand. He reached for it, but it melted into the stone around him, the minerals turning to quicksand and the root pulled the staff away through it and then the stone became solid just in time for Jack to crash into it. As he regained his bearings, he was unable to stop his paint and brush from being taken too.

Great, no magic. He cursed his old mentor for making him reliant on conduits. Instead, he clutched his thermablanket tighter to himself.

"Pitch! Show yourself!"

The voice that answered was female and deep, vibrating his bones. "I am not Pitch Black. You may be my pet project, Jack Frost, but that doesn't give you the right to insult me. Though I find your attempts to fight back amusing. Any other day, I'd leave you here to see what you'd do next, but time is pressing. I can only talk to the Moon for so long."

Gaia. That had to be Gaia. This was not Jack's day.

One moment he was in the rock box miles under the earth's crust, the next he was several stories above a garden and falling. The wind was too far away to catch him and he had no staff to use the natural eddies to make his descent softer. Jack dropped like a stone, only barely aware of the Guardians shouting his name. He landed on top of a bunch of roses, the thorns ripping through his clothes to the skin underneath, destroying the blanket. The plant stings however hurt a lot less than the impact. Two high speed collisions with a solid surface in ten minutes. He just wanted to lie there.

There was a rumble from above him that sounded suspiciously like a thundercloud.

"Jack Frost, you get out of my roses right now! I've spent centuries cultivating them," Mother Nature shouted at him.

He wanted to shout back at her, but he didn't have the breath back yet.

"Jack!"

Slowly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Tooth was hovering above him.

"Help me up?" he wheezed, lifting his arms into the air.

She complied, pulling him to his feet and then lifting him up into the air to fly him over the garden to what looked like a cobblestone labyrinth. The other Guardians where there waiting for him. Jack was pretty sure North would have given him a pat down if the rose cuts were healed but as it was he just got a smile.

"We were worried mate. We all arrived fine, but then your staff and paints showed up but not you." Bunny offered the painting supplies on his paws. Jack placed them in his pouch before taking his staff from Sandy.

"Yeah, well woah!"

Tooth pulled him out of the way of a lightening bolt from Mother Nature. "Did you have to teleport above my garden?!"

"Blame your boss, not me!"

That stopped her. "Gaia dropped you on my roses? Why?"

"Apparently she's as appreciative of people defying her as you are."

"You fought Gaia?" North shook his head in bewilderment.

"I didn't know the tunnels where hers! I thought...I thought..."

Bunny clapped a paw on his back. "I get it mate."

Yeah, Bunny would. The Easter avatar had first hand experience with Jack's tunnel unsettlement.

"Why are we at Mother Nature's place?"

Said spirit sighed. "Gaia and I were talking to the Man in the Sky the same time you were. He decided it would be easier to talk all together." She started walking towards the center of the labyrinth. Jack found it amusing she actually walked the path.

Taking her cue, the Guardians did the same.

"How can you talk to Manny? It is daytime." North shook his head in disbelief.

She looked over her shoulder to raise an eyebrow at him. It clearly said _because I'm Mother Nature._

"What were you talking about?" Tooth asked, flying along the path behind Jack.

"Jack."

"And?"

"It has nothing to do with you."

"Now hold it there shelia. Jack's family, so if it has to deal with him it has to deal with us."

At this point she had reached the center of the design. Mother Nature turned to glare at Bunny who was right behind her. Despite his advantage in height, she was the one in power in the staring contest.

"Please." Tooth flew around North and Bunny. She started to lay a hand on Mother Nature's shoulder but thought better of it.

Mother sighed and dropped her shoulders. "Since you are not connected to Nature and Gaia, I did not think you could connect to anything." She moved so the Guardians could join her on the center design. Jack noticed it was made from sand glass and showed all four seasons.

"Now that's not fair." Bunny crossed his arms. "We're connected to the children and each other."

She looked beyond the pooka to peer at Jack. After a moment of hard staring she turned her attention back to Bunny. "Maybe. Anyway, if you want to talk to them, talk."

As one, the Guardians looked up to the moonless sky and then down to their feet. Jack could tell Gaia was here, and the Moon though his presence wasn't as strong as it had been on the mountain. Taking a breath, he spoke.

"Moon, answer the question we asked before."

The same voice from before filled the air. "Yes, you are still meant to become a Seasonal."

Mother Nature hummed smugly.

"But how does that work with also having taken the Oath and becoming a Guardian? A Guardian and Seasonal are different types of spirits with different power sources and jobs. Different...life expectancies."

The answer came from below their feet in Gaia's rumble. "Did you not hear me call you my pet project just moments ago?"

"Yeah well, usually when someone has a focused interest in me things don't go in my favor." Like having his staff broken. Or being forced to rely on a conduit. Or being told everything he knew about his life was wrong.

Gaia and the Moon chuckled which instantly set Jack on edge. "Jack Frost, I chose you to be a Seasonal and that will not change. But life goes on, as it will, and your talents and personality made you the perfect candidate for a Guardian. You were doing their job better then they were, even if you were invisible to the children."

Jack blushed at the praise, while the rest of his family blushed for other reasons.

"And I have noticed the large amount of time it takes to create a new Seasonal." Gaia said. "It took a month to create you, preserving first your body and then filling it with magic. I had wanted you to be training these past three hundred years to get ready for your role as Winter, but that did not happen."

Now, it was Mother Nature who looked abashed, but Gaia didn't sound that upset at the lack of Jack's training.

"Even if you had, it would make little sense to have a Seasonal who trains for half his life and does his job for the other half. There is no non-spiritual life whose juvenile phase is half of it's life. It is a waste.

"And so, Jack Frost, just like life evolves so do spirits. When you became a Guardian, an event I support, I did my best to hide the information from Mother Nature and the Seasonals to give me time to adjust your magical core."

Jack looked down at his chest in disbelief.

"Changing a spirit's magical core is dangerous!" North exclaimed.

"Yes." the Moon agreed. "Which is why we are pleased you stopped Jack from trying to do it himself."

At that news, Mother Nature took a swipe at Jack who dodged. "You idiot! Why were you trying to do that?"

"Because I didn't want to be a Seasonal. I wanted to be a Guardian."

"I _am_ Nature." Gaia broke in. "I alone can safely change a spirit's magic. Just as you have seen Mother Nature work with breeding her plants and animals Jack, I have worked with your magic every time you use it and every time you gained a new believer since you had been selected to join the Guardians. They have a wonderfully long life, thanks to a hard to extinguish power source. And when I am done adjusting your magic, you will be the next evolution of Seasonal. A spirit whose life will be just as long as that which he cares for – the season of Winter.

"This is only possible because of the Guardian's Oath, it's a magical contract that allows a spirit to live off of something other than their own innate magic."

"So, I don't have to leave the Guardians?"

"No." The Moon answered. "Though you will have to take up your apprenticeship with Old Man Winter again and take his place in two centuries time."

"Gaia," Mother Nature said, "If this works with Jack, will you do the same thing with the other Seasonals?"

"Oh no. One is enough," Bunny insisted but Sandy was bobbing up and down happily. A power multiplier graphic from one of Jamie's racing games appeared above his head. He had a point. Even having one Seasonal level spirit on their side, defeating Pitch had been tough. With four, the children would always be safe.

"It depends on the spirit," Gaia said. "While I have always been in charge of life and it's cycles on Earth, the Moon has been more focused on it's happiness. He will decided if a spirit, be it a current Seasonal or one not yet born, is Guardian material. But I imagine that is a ways off."

Bunny didn't look pleased with the answer, but Mother Nature didn't seem that upset by it. She was chewing her lip. As if she had made a decision, she nodded her head crisply.

"Well then, if there aren't anymore questions can we go about our ways so the Guardians can leave my house?"

Gaia chuckled under their feet.

The Guardians looked at Jack, who shook his head. No questions. He was a little shocked over being the next thing in spiritual evolution. He wondered if the 'missing link' that Jamie went on about, if found, would feel this way. But his feelings didn't matter that much. What did was that he was going to stay a Guardian. Forever.

And just like that, the sense of magic in the area lowered considerably. Jack could no longer feel the Moon, but Gaia was on the edge of his senses. He supposed, now that he had felt her and knew what her magic felt like, he'd always be able to feel her when he was touching the ground.

The Guardians obviously couldn't tell the two most powerful forces in the world had left. They seemed to be waiting for a dismissal. Mother Nature gave them one in the form of a hand flap.

"You freaks, shoo. Get out of here."

Bunny looked affronted, but North quickly pulled out a snow globe before anything happened. Just before he threw it, Mother Nature pulled Jack aside.

His family paused, willing to drag him back into their arms but Jack waved them off. He could tell Mother wasn't being her usual violent self. "I'll have the wind take me back when we're done talking."

North nodded, and the four of them stepped through.

Once the glow disappeared, they made their way through the garden and woods to Mother's tree house. "I didn't know you cared that much about them. Or them you," she said as they walked.

"I didn't at first. Nor them. But we grew on each other. Just like I know I grew on you and Old Man Winter, despite being a prankster."

She smiled at that.

"I'm still not their biggest fan, but if you are now their's as well as mine, I suppose I will have to at least get to know them."

"Like I said before," Jack flew along side Mother as a vine lifted her up to the house, "I think you and Bunny could get along."

"Hmm."

She set about making drinks. The same as before, milk and honey. "As much as Gaia's announcement surprised me, I'm glad."

"About what?" Jack asked as he took a mug from her.

"That you won't be as short lived as the other Seasonals. I have to admit, seeing all the elementals but me live and die...it gets lonely. Gaia isn't always around to keep me company. She's got her own work to do, perhaps more than she should because I stay here most of the time. But what's the point of leaving if..."

"If they die and leave you anyway?"

She nodded.

"I used to think the same you know. About the kids. Why bother trying to get their attention if nothing had worked after so many years? But if I didn't what else would I have done? Give up? Laze about in the pond? That's not a life worth living."

"Nor is staying here and breeding bugs and plants. But if you're always going to be around Jack, I think I could leave my home more often. I'm lonely. And don't you dare tell any of the Seasonals that."

"Maybe the Moon will make you a Guardian, and then you can hang with us all the time."

"I'd rather stay in a volcano for fifty years than do that."

Jack laughed. "Well, at least, maybe come join us for Thanksgiving this year?"

"Maybe."

"Good." He finished his milk and stood up to go.

"Jack?"

"Hmm?"

"You are mine you know. My elemental and my future Seasonal. Just because I hit you with lightening bolts doesn't mean I don't care. If the Guardians bother you, you can always come to me."

"Thanks, Mother."

And suddenly, it struck him that the woman in front of him was exactly that. A very hands off mother who practiced tough love, but still someone who had come seeking him out when he was only fifty, taught him a bit of the world, and sent him to school. Jack felt a sudden compulsion to hug her, but let it pass. Maybe next time.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** And hereby concludes this series. Though transferring it from Ao3 to here has made some thoughts for drabbles fill my head. Thanks for reading guys! Follow me on tumblr if you like (I'm Uniasus over there too) or head over to Ao3 where I've got some fics not posted here.


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